14 days
by Naburoo
Summary: Sakura's wound will take two weeks to heal, by Kabuto's standards. Can they resist each other for almost 14 days? Rated for later chapters, sorry about the sucky lemon.
1. Chapter 1

If Sakura ever had the feeling that she was going to die, this was it

I'm only writing this for fun to see hoe far I can take my writing skills. If at any pint things seems a little forced, then it's probably because they are. Bit ooc, but this is a still a crack pairing by my standards. Please, please bear with me if things get a little hectic! I love you for reading this, but if you don't, it's ok… I'll still love you! clasps hands together

I don't own the characters.

If Sakura ever had the feeling that she was going to die, this was it.

Her breathing was long and slow, and her vision was flickering in and out of darkness. It wasn't the several broken bones that posed as the greatest threat, it was the amount of blood she'd lost from the many cuts and gashes on her body, the largest of which was on her head and chest. Sakura knew she'd taken out every damn Oto nin around her, except for the one that was standing in front of her, watching her die. And she was pretty sure that this was Kabuto's golden opportunity to kill her.

'If I'm going to die..' She thought, 'I would've liked to have taken out.. all of them…' And she slipped into a dangerous unconsciousness.

Kabuto had, of course, seen it all from the start. The Sound ninjas had unsuccessfully ambushed her, after she'd been separated from her team. She'd violently beaten the crap out of half of them before they'd gotten backup, and had done an incredible job for one versus eighteen. Kabuto was actually surprised she'd killed them all before passing out. He was also sure she had seen him before doing so. He crouched down beside her and felt for a pulse on her neck. It was irregular, and dull. He knew that it was Sakura Haruno who had killed a member of Akatsuki, with the aid of a Suna nin. Keeping her alive in the hopes that she might take out another was important to Orochimaru, and anything that was important to _that _man must be important to Kabuto as well. Aiding the enemy and benefiting from it was probably the strangest thing in war.

With that thought, Kabuto carefully rolled up her tattered shirt and frowned at what he saw. A complete mess of wounds and stab marks. He set to work trying to heal her most life-threatening injuries, as the minor ones would heal themselves. His frown deepened. 'This could take up to 2 weeks to fully heal. She really screwed up when she wasted so much chakra on the first round of nins.' He thought, as he noted the many fractures in her upper torso's bones.

Sighing, he began the intricate and dangerous process of knitting tissue back together. She was a long way from Konoha, and attempting to travel such a distance would not be in her best interests at this point. After several minutes, Kabuto gathered her in his arms and vanished in a puff of smoke.

When Sakura awoke, she had no idea how much time had passed or where she was. Keeping her eyes closed, she tried to send out chakra in pulses throughout her body in an attempt to survey the damage. For a moment, she thought she'd already been completely healed, but then she realized she wasn't sending out chakra because she didn't have any.Footsteps grew louder, and a moment later a door slid open. So she was in a traditional house, and judging by fabric beneath her, on a futon. Sakura kept her eyes closed and her breathing regular, in hopes that her captor would believe her to be sleeping and leave the room.

Kabuto leaned over Sakura and tilted her head to the side. It took every bit of self-control for Sakura to not snap open her eyes. She didn't know who was touching her head, but they were about to get a broken nose, chakra-less or not.'Could use some fresh gauze.' Kabuto thought. He knew she'd be better off with the Godaime as a medic, but he'd had worse patients than this. 

She'd been asleep for two days now, and it was about time she woke up. Hoping she wasn't in a coma, Kabuto stood up and walked to the other side of the room, and began searching through a cabinet of medicine.

Sakura took this chance to crack open an eye and survey her surroundings. Her eyes widened upon seeing Kabuto's back. 'That bastard.. He's only keeping me alive for Orochimaru's selfish wants.' She had to keep in control. If she could fake sleep just long enough to get her chakra back…

"Morning."

Crap. So much for that plan. Kabuto had turned around a split second before she'd shut her eyes again. Having been discovered awake, Sakura decided that Kabuto being on the other side of the room was an advantage, and she attempted to snap up and bolt for the door. It was the snapping up part that made her fall back down again. She gasped in pain and looked down to see gauze around her abdomen, red with blood from freshly opened wounds. "Eauuugh…" Sakura moaned, digging her nails into the wooden floor and clasping an arm around her stomach. Kabuto saw a flicker of green from her hand and took a step closer. If she tried to heal such a wound with such low chakra, she might tear her muscles, or worse.

"Hey, kock it off. You can't hope to heal yourself like that." But she hadn't heard him, or wasn't listening. Kabuto knew Haruno to be an intelligent individual, but apparently her determination was overriding her intelligence at the moment. He reached down and pulled her hand away from the red bandages. She struggled against his grasp, but sitting up so quickly seemed to have taken it's toll on her. Breathing labored, she slid back into unconsciousness again. Kabuto held her in a sitting position for a while, inspecting the damage she'd done. The gauze had come loose from her head and had tangled with her hair. He sighed and laid her back down. 'What a frickin' hassle.' He thought. 'But there aren't many Konoha nins so determined to get rid of Akatsuki as her team is.' Kabuto wondered what Sasuke would say if he found out his former team member was in his care, only because she might und up killing off his brother's organization.

Kabuto leaned back and sighed. He really needed a break. Catering to Orochimaru's every need was getting more annoying nowadays, especially with Sasuke getting trained everyday. Kabuto was hardly needed to take care of Orochimaru's health. He looked back to the sleeping woman beside him. It was hard to believe she was only a year younger. According to his old info cards from the Chuunin, she'd shown incredible growth in strength since then. He reached out and placed a hand on her abdomen, and slowly began healing her wounds again. Most of her minor wounds had healed, but the one on her head had nearly fractured her skull. Kabuto extended his hand and gently pulled the gauze from her hair. Her head moved as he pulled, and her cheek came in contact with his palm.

To anyone else, it would have looked as though he was caressing her head. Kabuto quickly withdrew his hand at this thought.

He definitely needed a break. And staying in this abandoned hotel in the middle of Sound for two weeks sounded like a great way to blow off steam.

Enjoy-o? Review-o! Feel free to be as harsh as you'd like, I won't ever get all bitchy or butthurt over critique. It's what I'm looking for. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Just something I'm writing out of boredom. I know this is kinda forced and OOC, but I felt like writing it anyway. If I get around to writing any more fics, they'll probably be OOC.

Rated for Later chapters

Review? x3

--

When Sakura awoke again, she didn't bother keeping her eyes closed. She stayed still for a long time, thinking things out.

'If I stay here while my injuries heal, I might be able to get info on Sasuke-kun.' Which was the entire reason she'd been in Sound to begin with.

Sakura's feeling toward Sasuke had changed considerably over the past few years. By the time she was 15, she'd long abandoned her childhood crush on him. She only saw him as a bond that couldn't afford to be broken. Sakura had too few friends in this world to lose one of them.

Now at 17, she was more determined than ever to find him, and so had been following a team that was scouting Sound. The problem was that they hadn't known she was there. Reason being, Sakura had told her shishou on several occasions that searching Sound for Sasuke might bring him home successfully. After repeated refusals from the Hokage, Sakura had decided to tail a small platoon that was moving through the country. It was then that she'd been ambushed.

Sakura tried moving her head, ignoring the pain that thumped in it. The room she was in gave her the impression that it hadn't been used in a very long time. She could see a small window above her, which told her that it was a clear afternoon. Sakura pressed her hands into the floor, sitting herself up carefully and slowly.

She was in mid breath when she started coughing. Some blood must have somehow drained into her lungs, and she turned over, coughing up small amounts.

"That wasn't pleasant." Kabuto said from the doorway. She turned around to glare at him. Most would have run at the sight of it. If he got any closer, she would sweep kick him off the friggin'-

"Attacking me would not be in your best interests." He pushed his glasses further up his nose and frowned at her. Apparently, her expression made it obvious she wished to cause him harm. Kabuto had seen this glare before, four years ago when he'd fought against a certain pissed off Sannin. 'Same expressions.' He thought.

Sakura spat blood at his feet.

'Same temper too..' He added. Kabuto folded his arms.

"You're in the heart of an extremely hostile country, severely wounded and without team members. No one back at your village knows you are here. Traveling would put you at risk, not only because of your injuries, but because you wouldn't get very far without meeting Sound nins anyway."

Sakura clenched her teeth. "Really? I never would have guessed. Got any other obvious explanations?" Kabuto's frown deepened. This woman's attitude was really ticking him off, not that he'd been expecting gratitude for saving her life.

"You know why I haven't killed you yet, I assume?" Kabuto asked in a near monotone. Sakura clenched her fist while wiping blood from her mouth with the other. "You assumed correctly." She answered. Being kept safe by an enemy so that she might take out another was probably the strangest thing in war.

After a long moments pause, Sakura had regulated her breathing for the moment and asked, "Where am I, exactly?"

Kabuto turned away from her slid open the double rice paper door to reveal an outdoor walkway. From what she could see from the large opening, she was in a square shaped building, with railinged walkways along the interior, which held a large courtyard in the middle.

"It's an abandoned inn, no longer in use. The failing business went down the drain when Lord Orochimaru came to power." Sakura craned her neck to get a better look. It really was a fair sized place, but what made really surprised her was the copious amount of steam rising from the center of the huge courtyard.

"A hotspring…?" She muttered in disbelief. If she hadn't been kidnapped, wounded, and in a hostile country, this might have been a vacation.

Kabuto turned to face her. "You had a lot of internal bleeding, many fractured bones, a nearly punctured lung, a severe head wound, a dislocated shoulder, and many torn abdominal muscles." He wasn't sure how she would respond to this, but Kabuto thought it important that she know.

Sakura couldn't help it. She grinned and spoke with sarcasm. "Oh, I'm so sorry for the trouble doctor." Oh for heaven's sake- She'd nearly died, and she was cracking jokes? God, women were ridiculous.

But she was an enemy to his enemies, nonetheless.

He left the room, but quickly returned with a glass of water and a simple piece of bread. He smiled unpleasantly before setting them down in the doorway, knowing full well she was incapable of walking.

Healing her most life threatening wounds had been tiresome. If she was thirsty enough, she could move herself to get it. Sakura frowned, and he left the room. "Jerk." She called after him.

--

Kabuto's break wasn't turning out as relaxing as he'd liked. Most of the time he spent in Sakura's vicinity throughout the day was usually spent holding a dish under her while she coughed up blood. It turned out her punctured lung hadn't healed the way he'd wanted, and she kept drifting off into sleep from blood loss.

He sat down with a sigh and watched, bored, as she slept. It was the evening of the second day, and the last rays of the sun were shining feebly through the open door.

There was something otherworldly about her features when this happened. Unable to resist, he moved closer to her, examining her face for the first time.

When she wasn't scowling, she was actually quite pretty. Not beautiful, perhaps, but definitely a pleasure to the eye. Kabuto's gaze softened as her lips parted only slightly, and her soft breathing could be quietly heard.

He couldn't believe that Sasuke had left someone like her behind. He assumed there was mobody worthy of his acknowledgement back in Konoha when he'd arrived at Orochimaru's hideout 4 years ago. He wondered what Sasuke would think if he saw her now. Sasuke had been silent when they found out who had killed Sasori. It had certainly been a surprise to him.

Sakura sighed and shifted in her sleep. How could someone be so bitchy awake, and end up looking adorable in their sleep?

Wait.. Adorable? She's 17!

Kabuto smacked his hand over his face and tightened his jaw. Living under a rock and serving Orochimaru for so long was really starting to take its toll on him.

Hm. Two weeks with a grouchy female and a hot springs. Oh yes, this was going to be an excellent test of his social skills.

--.---.---

Ok, is it me, or does this sound like Love Hina? XD Sortof, except they're ninjas. Feedback would be excellent, and I hope you enjoy. Man.. I _really_ like putting people in odd situations. :'D


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Onsen is a hotsprings

Thanks for the reviews, everyone. I'm glad to guys think this is amusing. I like to know what goes through your minds when your reading this.

--

Sakura gripped the small table next to her and poured copious amounts of healing chakra into her chest. It would take any normal person 5 days to start standing after her injuries, but she was a medic nin, by god. If she wanted to start standing in 3 days, she'd do it.

But whether she wanted to or not was irrelevant. It depended on whether or not her body wanted to. Sakura knew Kabuto was an excellent medic as well, but one could only heal so fast.

There, she'd finally stood up for 2 minutes _without _fainting. Her knees suddenly buckled and she was sitting back on the floor again. Frustrated, Sakura chewed her lip, just in time to see Kabuto slide open the door.

"The only clothes around here are traditional style." He paused before adding with a smirk, "I hope you're well enough to change yourself." Sakura gave him a deathglare. Of course he was making fun of her, treating her like a child. She was so tempted to strangle him.. He tossed the clothes in the room and turned to leave, but stopped halfway out the door.

"Were you trying to stand?" He asked with mild interest. Sakura blinked. His tone wasn't rude anymore. Surprisingly, it sounded as though he was asking out of curiosity.

"Yes.. but I have to keep a steady stream of chakra going." She peered up at him, watching for a reaction. But he simply nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Kabuto leaned against the outer railing and looked into the courtyard. He wasn't surprised or fazed by her determination to fully heal. But he was intrigued by her ability to keep chakra running continuously through her system, healing herself while she moved. Her chakra control may be better than his..

The moment she was in traveling condition, he'd lead her right out of Sound. If Konoha caught on that she was being held in there, he'd have some unpleasant questions to answer to.

The sound of the door sliding open snapped him out of his thoughts. He was about to ask her why she was in such a hurry to walk, but he was too busy being blown away by Sakura, wearing traditional clothing. If she looked this hot in a simple yukata… No! Bad thoughts! Kabuto cleared his throat and spoke with careful control over his voice.

"I would suggest staying in the interior walkways of the hotel. There is a porch going around the outside, but I don't think you want to be a target for poisoned kunai." She gifted him with a sly smile. "Sound poisons their kunai? Thanks for the info." Kabuto gave himself a mental slap. Seriously. He did _not _make mistakes like that. Was she using genjutsu? Had she somehow forced his speech?" He turned away, letting her know that his quarters were in that direction, and she was not to follow. Kabuto sighed quietly.

A vacation was not a vacation if one had to keep on their toes.

-

Unable to stand any longer, Sakura plopped down in a chair, in what seemed to be the kitchen. She'd had to take a breather just walking down the stairs to the first floor.

It was a small, old fashioned kitchen with a gas stove and rice cooker. Sakura wondered if the gas had ever leaked in the long years it'd been out of use. Maybe she could somehow blow it up when she healed. She wasn't sure if her stealth skills were enough to get her through Sound alone, but if there was one thing she hated, it was being dependent. Oh yes, there was no way that Sakura Haruno was going to be _needy._

With that rebellious thought, she pushed herself up from the chair and began rummaging through the cupboards. Surprisingly, it was full of easy-make food and snacks, and there was even fresh milk in the refrigerator. Perhaps Kabuto had bought all this while she'd been sleeping.

'Oh yes, about Kabuto.' She thought. From what Sakura could tell, he was a cold hearted bastard who sucked up to Orochimaru's greedy ass. Sure, he was an amazing medic, but he had that horrible air of arrogance about him. And his personality..

Sakura's train of thought shut down. She'd just realized she didn't know much about her personality. She lightly scolded herself for acting so judgmental. Although they were on different sides of a team, everyone was human.

Frustrated, Sakura ran a finger through her unclean hair. She suddenly remembered the onsen she'd seen from her doorway. 'Maybe I'll just take a quick peek..' And she stumbled her way outside. Captured and wounded though she may be, it wasn't every day a ninja got to spend two weeks at a hot springs.

-

With Sakura exploring the rest of the inn, Kabuto had decided to take the opportunity to spend a few well deserved minutes in the onsen. As he made his way to the courtyard, he couldn't shake the thought of that form fitting yukata out of his head. Unashamed of his licentious thoughts he slid open the door that led to the outdoor walkway. With any luck, the woman currently invading his thoughts would have gotten tired from moving around so much, and retired to her room

-

Sakura stood on the edge of a rock and surveyed her surroundings. The onsen was walled off by a thin bamboo wall, which also ran through the middle of it. Apparently, there hadn't been mixed bathing when the inn was in business..

'And there sure as hell won't be any now.' Sakura thought, leaning closer to examine the depth of the- oh _shit!_

Her bare foot slid on the steamy rock, and she suddenly found herself seconds away from further severe injury in a scalding hot spring, had it not been for the strong arm that wrapped around her waist. Kabuto pulled her away from the edge, with Sakura leaning back on him.

--

I seriously have this odd thing with putting women into ridiculously helpless situations. I'm having so much fun with this. I mean c'mon, injured or no, a 17 year old ninja is not going to lose her footing by an onsen. But in this fic? For sure. 8D


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Woah, sorry 'bout that type-o in the last chapter. I meant to say that Sakura didn't know much about HIS personality.

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Her legs having given away, Sakura leaned against Kabuto and drew deep, shaky breaths. Leaning over a steamy hotsprings? Bad idea. Something in her brain clicked, and she suddenly realized what she was doing, and who she was leaning on. Kabuto seemed to have just been struck with this as well, because he quickly removed his arm from her waist. There was a slightly awkward pause, during which Sakura tried to push her waning amount of chakra back into her legs.

The sudden body motions sent her head reeling, and her chest was hurting terribly again. She grasped her stomach and shuddered, hoping she was through coughing up blood. This didn't go unnoticed by Kabuto, who hesitated when he placed his hands back on her abdomen to survey the damage. 'Not too bad..' He pulled one of her arms around his shoulder and wrapped a hand around her waist again, and slowly began moving them away from the onsen. Sakura didn't object to being moved in this way, for which Kabuto was a little grateful. At least she knew when to be sensible, and wasn't freaking out _all_ the time.

Stumbling their way into the kitchen, Kabuto leaned sideways and let go of Sakura's arm, letting her fall gently into a chair. He then turned and plopped down in a chair opposite, giving her a look that plainly said 'What the hell were you thinking?' Sakura, panting slightly, met his gaze and held it.

Green locked with gray as the two stared at each other, their brains suddenly thrown into motion. Sakura churned. 'How can I get information out of him? He's the most direct link to Sasuke I have right now.' 'What's with that intense look on her face? Is her abdomen still hurting?' 'Fantastic, now he's giving me funny looks. Gotta say something…' 'Ok, now she looks pissed, I'll just talk'

"What's to are eat you hungry?"

"…"

Both questions had been asked at the same time, and in doing so they'd both received answers. Kabuto allowed a smirk to play about his features, as he got up from his chair and walked to the cupboard, searching through them for an easy-make meal.

A light, warm breeze gently waved through the small kitchen. The motions made the trees rustle softly, causing birds to chirp to one another from their branches. The soft tinkling of an old, weathered wind chime played quietly from the outdoor walkway. A ticking noise made Sakura glance towards the gas stove, where blue flames had given life to the now boiling water Kabuto had put there. Sakura rested her head in her hands and slowly closed her eyes, as cicadas mixed their noise into the sluggish, warm sounds of summer. She sighed softly, think that this may not be so bad after all, and as her posture relaxed, she allowed her mind to ease.

Kabuto poked at the boiling ramen in the pot beside him, turning his head to glance at Sakura. His trained eyes suddenly set on a piece of Cottonwood fluff drifting in through the open doorway, and he watched as it became caught in Sakura's shoulder length hair. She was so relaxed she didn't even feel the little piece of fluff become tangled within her pink strands. Impulsively, Kabuto wanted to say something to get her attention, to teasingly upset her for being so incredibly off-guard. But something about the image before him kept him silent. He felt as if he was being treated to a gift that not many were allowed to see. The hazy steam from the pot curled in the air and the scent of ramen wafted about.

He gazed at Sakura for a long time, lost in thought. 'If I weren't constantly being someone's right hand man, I'll bet a sight like this would be an everyday thing. When was the last time I wasn't someone's lap dog?' He thought to himself.

The sudden, angry hissing of water boiling over made them both jump, and in a flash Kabuto had the pot on the counter, where the water bubbled back down. The moment was only slightly ruined.

As he was mixing the flavor in, Sakura was trying to beat down a blush. There was no way she could have _not _noticed him gazing at her. But it wasn't that that was making her cheeks color. It was the soft, almost bored expression on his face that had done it. In the few times she'd seen Kabuto, he'd never looked so passive before. For just a few moments, he had looked so at peace with himself. She wondered if he ever had a chance to relax around Orochimaru, or if he ever had time off. But she remembered who she was thinking about. 'Like I care.' She thought, suddenly grouchy as she pouted.

"What are you frowning for? Are you always so pissy?" Kabuto drawled. Sakura had a wicked urge to spit into his ramen bowl as he set them down on the wooden table, with a pair of somewhat beat up looking chopsticks. Not even bothering with an 'Itadakimasu", or a response to his questions, Sakura went straight to her food. She soon discovered it was harder to eat with a frown, but she kept it up anyway. The man in front of her felt like chuckling at her stubbornness, but he too went straight to eating.

Neither spoke as they ate, but when he knew she wasn't looking, Kabuto would glance at the Cottonweed fluff in her hair. He did this until, with another soft breeze, it tumbled out of it's pink cage and drifted out the window, opposite the door from which it had come.

--

Boredom. The enemy of all who live an active lifestyle. It covered Sakura like a heavy blanket as she sat on the floor, staring at absolutely _nothing_ outside her opened window. She sighed for the hundreth time. So, so, booored... And in the hottest part of Summer too.

It was her fourth day at the abandoned inn, her second day conscious, and her first day dying of boredom. She'd eaten her meals in the same manner as the first, and was walking around with only minor difficulties. It would take at least another 10 days or so for her to be tip top shape again, but would Kabuto wait that long before booting her out of Sound? Until then, there was absolutely _nothing_ to do.

'I'll bet,' Sakura thought, 'I'll bet if we weren't enemies, it would be oh-so easy to strike up a conversation. We're both medics, we both know some of the same people, and we're both probably bored as fuck, here!'

What could she possibly lose by talking to him?

'At the very least, he might have a book to read. I'd read anything right now, even that stupid Icha-Icha Paradise.' Sakura allowed sigh number one hundred and one to escape her lips, and with that, she pulled herself to her feet and trudged off towards the door.

--

Hatake Kakashi quickly snapped his favorite book shut, and sternly observed the man in front of him.

"You're quite sure all your information is correct?" His usually bored tone was sharp and serious. "Yes, Hatake-san! The Hokage wants you in her office, immediately!" Kakashi was gone in a puff of smoke before he'd finished speaking, his mind racing.

--

Naruto slammed a hand on the desk in front of him, making a small pig beside it squeal in surprise. "We have to leave _now, _you stupid old lady!!" Tsunade towered over him, her mind calculating and processing several things at once. The situation felt so terribly predictable, as if it were bound to happen sometime, and Tsunade felt she should have seen this one coming. If her newly returned team had indeed lost Sakura in Sound, there would be hell to pay with blood, and she would not be the one coughing it up when she found out who had captured her.

Kakashi materialized with smoke, his eyes set on Tsunade, impatiently waiting for her to speak.

"Naruto, calm down now, or I will restrain you so violently you won't be talking for the rest of your life." She turned to Shizune, who had already snapped to attention. "I want a platoon of Anbu scouting the borders of Sound. They are not to make a move until further orders are given. Have them relay any important info via nin-dogs" Shizune was out the door when Tsunade finished. "And bring me 'Lou. 1!'" She called after her assistant.

Naruto, unable to keep silent, opened his mouth to speak. Tsunade beat him to it. "Shutup! You will receive two temporary additions to your team, and move into Sound _when I give the order! _Is that understood?!" Naruto nodded with clenched teeth. Kakashi just exhaled quietly.

He caught the Hokage's eye, and he knew they were both thinking the same thing. Orochimaru might not harm Sakura, as she had killed an Akatsuki member. But who knew what he might do if he decided that didn't matter? He might use her with some sick mindfuck training for Sasuke to harden his heart against his team members even more. Sasuke may or may not try to help her. If she was turned over to Kabuto's experiments… Or she may have died before even being discovered.

Pessimistic thoughts clouded their minds as every possible outcome seemed to present itself, like little Pandora's boxes, all opening with some new terrible thought inside.

.------.

I'm very sorry for not updating in a few bazillion years. School is a time sucker. I feel like an octopus is constantly sucking my face off. Painfully, and at all times.

Thank you, and you, and all of you so much for the reviews. I hope I can throw more comedy in here, as I do intend to keep this fun, _and _a little serious. And yes, I hope I can update more often. My second semester is starting, seppuku is the only way out! ;;

Thanks especially Arobin, (and Goatis) for those writing tips I did not previously know, although that 'Lou. 1' thing was on purpose.

'Lou no. 1' is a reference to Something Misao from Rurouni Kenshin says, from which I am borrowing the idea from. I am not taking credit for it, or the idea, or the series. I don't own anything!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Does everyone know how to play BS? (bullshit?) The aim is to get rid of all your cards, sometimes by lying. You divide up all the cards between the players, then, going in order from ace to king, place down an amount of cards. For example, if it's your turn and you have two 4's, but you want to get rid of more cards, you'd put down 3 cards and say "three 4's!" If the person knows you're lying about that fake one you threw in there, he'd say BS! And then you have to take all the cards in the pile. If this explanation sucks, I think you can find it online. Thanks for the reviews so far, everyone. It's day 4.

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Sakura's tabi socks padded along the interior walkway of the traditional style inn. She was contemplating whether or not she should use chakra to find Kabuto, but it wasn't good to use chakra surges in hostile countries. She didn't know where in Sound she was, and becoming a beacon of chakra just to find one person was a bad plan.

But after walking past the same 5 or 6 doors, she was sorely tempted to just call out his name. Wait! This was training! Leave it to boredom to find a way to turn anything into a ninja exercise. Slowly and carefully, Sakura knelt down until she was kneeling on the wooden panels. Placing two hands on the floor, she relaxed every sense until the slightest noise became a loud echo, and every movement on the wood floor was magnified to her ultra-sensitive palms. There… Four doors down was the faint, steady vibrations of a heartbeat. Voila. Sakura grabbed the railing next to her and slowly pulled herself back up. She stood outside the rice paper door and lifted a hand to gently knock.

The door slid open before she'd even touched it. Go figure, he'd probably heard her pacing back and forth past the doors. Kabuto stared down at her.

"Yes?"

Had his voice always sounded so silky? Right, straight to the point then. "I'm bored. Do you have any books?" "No." "Any pen and ink?" "Not that I'll let you use." Sakura frowned. "Any playing cards?" Kabuto looked down at her for another moment, then turned away. "I don't play cards." And he slid his door shut.

'What a disgustingly unsocial person.' Sakura thought. Still determined, and not moving from her position, she spoke to the closed door in a low voice.

"How about strip poker?"

Sakura never knew it, but on the other side of that door Kabuto had the most bizarre expression imaginable on his face. His eyes were widened in shock, and his mind was thrown into a deep gutter, where possibly unwanted images of Sakura's yukata becoming undone and- NO. Not going there, _not going there! _

Back on Sakura's side, she looked like a feline playing with her food. She smirked and cupped her hand to her mouth to suppress a giggle, as she thought of how many times she'd triumphed in strip poker, even while tipsy.

The door slid back open. Both ninjas had perfectly arranged, plain features. Neither appeared to have moved.

"Well?" Sakura said in a low voice. Kabuto held out a pack of cards. "No strip poker, but I'll play BS." Sakura smiled sweetly and snatched the cards away from him. As he stepped out his room and they made their way to the kitchen, she mumbled just loud enough for him to hear.

"I think you're just afraid you'll lose."

'I wonder if you'd mind that.' He thought to himself.

--

Naruto lay on the floor with two hands behind his head. The only ventilation in the hot room was a window beside him, where he'd hoped a breeze might sweep through. No such breeze had blown his way, though, and he rolled over to reach for a water bottle beside him. The bottle was just out of his reach as he tried in vain to stretch his arm farther. He groaned loudly and let his hand fall. He wished he could melt.

A door on the other side of the room slid open, and Kakashi stepped in holding a plastic container of onigiri. He sat down next to Naruto and set the box down between the two of them.

"Kakashi sensei… let's just go rescue Sakura now." Naruto drawled in a whiney tone. His usual enthusiasm was gone from his voice, evaporated by the summer's heat. He was obviously tired of camping out in Yamato's wooden hotels, but they were only a mile from the Sound border, and Tsunade had not yet sent them an 'ok to move' sign viw messenger bird.

"Naruto, this is only the second day out here, so do your old sensei a favor and shut up." Kakashi spoke blandly before popping open the onigiri container and walking out to the porch where he could eat in silence.

Kakahi trusted Sakura to keep herself safe. After the initial surprise of her becoming separated died down, he realized he hadn't given Sakura very much credit. Her team knew perfectly well that she was capable of keeping herself safe. She was a smart girl.

'Woman.' Kakashi corrected himself. After all, she wasn't a kid anymore.

-

"Bullshit!!" Sakura slammed a hand on the table and triumphantly jabbed out a finger, pointing directly at Kabuto, who smirked his mischievous smirk. He slowly extended an arm and lifted up the top three cards on the small pile in the middle of the table.

"Looks like three queens to me." He said quietly, in contrast to Sakura's loud outburst. Sakura looked to her right, where a clone of herself gave her an empathetic look. She sat down and stared across to Kabuto's clone. It was impossible to play Bullshit with two people, because then each would know where all the cards were. Plus, Sakura had added at the start of their game, it was a pain in the ass to split all those cards between them.

"Your turn, girly." Sakura shot him a glance at his pet name for her, and then examined her newly acquired cards. Kings, kings… She knew his clone didn't have any, because she'd caught him the last time, and Kabuto only had four cards left. Her clone had seven left, and she only knew that there were two kings that weren't already in the pile. Sakura turned this information over in her head, before deciding to play it safe. She'd gotten one too man 'bullshits' from the man across her to think she could get away with another.

"One king." She threw down a card. 'C'mon, say bullshit, say bullshit, I dare you, you four eyed son of a bitch. Say it. Saaay it.'

"Stop that." Kabuto demanded. He was giving her a bland look. "Stop what?" Sakura asked in mock innocence. "Stop trying to give me the death glare. It doesn't look intimidating at all." He responded. Sakura arched a brow before trying a new approach. She widened her eyes and set her mouth into a deep frown, trying to look more insane than scary.

Kabuto sat comfortably in his chair for a moment or two, and the only sound in the room was the birds chirping. Sakura's forehead scrunched together in a last ditch attempt to maximize the effect.

Kabuto leaned back and burst out laughing. His clone grinned beside him, and Sakura's just pinched the area between her eyes, looking embarrassed. The real Sakura threw her remaining cards at him. "Stop laughing, I was trying to look scary!" But he just laughed harder at this. She sat down in a huff. Why was she acting like a kid? More importantly, when was the last time she'd made someone laugh? Her suddenly contemplative mood made Kabuto's laughter die down, until it was nothing but chuckles. He looked at her cards on the floor and put his hands together, releasing his clone.

"I guess that's a game over?" He asked in exaggerated politeness. Sakura didn't answer. She was playing with a card in her hand, thinking about the last time she'd gone on a vacation. Was it a year ago, or two? No, longer probably. She couldn't remember the last time she'd gone out to dinner with friends, or the last time she'd been invited to a party. She couldn't remember cracking a joke in a few months, or even laughing at one herself. Missions and training had become an everyday routine for her, but Sakura couldn't even recall the last time she'd seen Ino. A few weeks ago, maybe. It used to be every few days.

Sakura stared at the card she was holding, not really seeing it. Kabuto's laughter had sounded much too foreign for her tastes. It wasn't right that she was pulling faces and playing cards with him, when she had neglected friends back home.

A hand reached out and gently pulled the card from hers. She looked up to see that Kabuto had collected the cards and was putting them back into their package. She glanced around and released her clown as well.

"And what were you thinking about so intently?" He asked lightly. Sakura shook her head and looked away. She tried to sound casual, and she waved a hand in front of her as she made to get up from her chair. "Nothing important."

Suddenly, Kabuto was right beside her, one hand on the table, the other on the back of Sakura's chair. His face hovered inches above hers as she stared, shocked, up into his face. Not breaking eye contact, he spoke quite clearly.

"Bullshit."

A light breeze waved through the tiny, warm kitchen, bringing with it the small of grass.

----

Please let me know how I'm doing, and thank you so much for the reviews so far!

Oh man, these summer scenes are hard to write when snow is falling outside. Is it weird for some of you to read this in winter? Ok, this chapter's shorter, I know. I want this fic to be 14 chapters long, just to be a silly popsicle. So although they might not be miles long, I'm going to be updating more often. I have a big break coming up!


	6. Chapter 6

Bleh, sorry this one took a bit. ):

Originally, I didn't plan on having this fic go anywhere. It was just going to be a bunch of funny/odd/interesting situations with a lulzy ending. Now, however, I feel a bit more attached to it, so It's time to get my act together, I suppose…

--

_A body lay on a cold, metal table in a dark room. Kabuto hated this room. No matter how many candles you lit, the darkness seemed to absorb the light from them. Although it actually smelled of formaldehyde and cleaning products, it constantly reeked of decay to Kabuto. This was the room his father worked in._

"_Son, come look at this." His 'father' would say. "See that there? It's called the trachea." He would smile encouragingly as the young boy's hand curiously and lightly touched the tissue of the bodies neck, illuminated by the pale overhead light. The child looked up into his adopted father's lined face. Years of surrounding himself with the deceased had taken its toll. His eyes were a puddle-colored gray set in purple tinged skin. His face, hollowed and pale, was dead and lifeless. Just like the corpses in this dark room. It would be only a few years later that this man would die from disease. Kabuto would inherit everything. At long last he'd be able to study without the cold stare of his father. And in time, the morgue wouldn't seem like such a hateful place after all. _

_Kabuto promised himself, even as he worked long hours in the Konoha clinic, to never become the man his father was, to never completely immerse himself in death. He would follow in the footsteps of men far greater and more powerful than his wasted father. No, he was going to find a man of_ambition_. Kabuto was only just beginning down his long road of training, studies, and the preparation for the betrayal of his village. _

_He told himself over and over that no one could ever make him think twice about his choice of life's roads._

--

"Bullshit."

Sakura narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brow at the man hovering over her. Either he was just being a tease and trying to rile her up, or he actually had a bone to pick with her. Either way, Sakura could not think of one thing about herself that would bother him, least of all her relationships with others.

She defied him in an accusatory tone, "It's not really your business, is it? What do you care about my social life?" "Or lack there of." Kabuto said in the same, quiet voice. Sakura stood up, getting out of her chair on the side that wasn't being blocked by Kabuto, who continued to gaze at her steadily from the other side. Both of them now stood facing each other. She folded her arms and impatiently waited for him to explain himself.

"It bothers me," He began. "That you're an incredibly powerful, intelligent, and skilled kunoichi, and you've obviously been so for years, but you're entirely incapable of suppressing your feelings." Sakura's jaw tightened, her face tensed. The laughter from their card game had long since drifted away from the kitchen out the window, where clouds were building up in front of the sun. The air was no longer light, but heavy, like the sullen feeling before a storm. Kabuto spoke dryly, "I've always hated how soft Konoha nins are. They put too much heart into their job." As he spoke his worse hatefully, electricity seemed to snap between the two. Sakura's face turned menacing, her glare now more vicious than her captor's. Waves of danger seemingly rolled off of her.

"Pity I can't say the same for you, as you don't seem to have a heart." She growled, "I won't say this again: It has nothing to do with you."

The man across her merely pushed his glasses up his nose, acknowledging her warning signs, but paying them no mind. He simply continued as if she hadn't spoken. "I could not believe that you so _stupidly_ ran crying towards the Kyuubi boy that day on the bridge. How could the Godaime's powerful apprentice, who almost single-handedly killed an Akatsuki member, who's stood up to enemies thrice her age, be sobbing like a child over one _pathetic jinchuuri-_"

Sakura, all too aware of the state of her injuries, had grasped a leg of the table and swung as hard as her strength willed her.

At close range, the large size of the table didn't allow Kabuto to move in time. With a sickly thud he was knocked off his feet like a bowling pin, but he turned sideways in time to slam into the wall on his back. The air was thrust from his lungs and he slid down to a sitting position, letting out a painful "oomph!"

The table slammed into the wall next to Sakura, who'd swung a full one-eighty, and cracked into hundreds of pieces.

Kabuto gasped, struggling to regain the lost air in his lungs. His entire body ached from being hit against two hard surfaces in a matter of seconds. But he didn't bother trying to bolt into a defensive position, because, sure enough, Sakura had also slid down the wall where the table had been previously. The broken, wooden leg escaped from her grip and fell with a clatter to the floor, where splinters of what remained of the table littered the kitchen. Both of her hands clenched her chest in pain, but she could feel no blood. Kabuto, his glasses knocked to the floor, stared blearily across at Sakura, who slowly opened her eyes as well. They sat there and looked at each other through half closed eyes, two injured medics.

A few moments passed, then a minute. The only thing heard was the sound of heavy panting, with the exception of a very low roll of thunder from the open window. Neither made any effort to move.

Inhaling sharply, Kabuto's voice was in quiet contrast to the previous sounds of splintering wood.

"Case. In. Point." He spat venomously.

And then Sakura did something he'd never in a million years expected her to do. Despite the sharp hurting in her chest, she gave a loud, cheerful laugh that was so genuine, Kabuto thought his breath had slipped away again in surprise. "Damn straight." she managed to gasp out. Half sitting, half laying against the wall, she smiled and closed her eyes, hands going limp at their sides.

Surely, this was yet another moment with this girl that Kabuto would never forget. Here was a dangerous pink haired beauty, clothed in traditional yukata, unconscious and laying amongst sharp wooden splinters… and a little smile still playing about her tired features.

'Was she actually offended or not?!' Kabuto thought in pure bewilderment. There was a loud tap on the window, then another. The rain sounded like a hundred marbles falling on metal, but he didn't bother closing the window. After all, summer rain is never cold.

--

Much later that night, Sakura awoke to the sounds of heavy rain and wood being dropped on wood. Only half awake, she sleepily imagined Kabuto grouchily cleaning up the destroyed table in the poorly lit kitchen. The thought caused her to smile once more. Before she quickly drifted off, her fuzzy thoughts formed a hazy question. 'Wait… did he carry me up here again…?' As Sakura slipped into a deep sleep, she dreamt of being rescued from demons by a prince charming with glasses.

She didn't remember the dreams when she woke the next morning.

--

Done with that one. I know, this one was short.

I get the feeling there's something annoying about my writing style. I know I re-use a LOT of the same elements, but I just feel like it's something else. This is why I love reviews so much. Think of your self like a raindrop helping a seedling to grow! (That was not cheesy one single bit, nope!)

Hurrhurr. I liked writing this one. The next chapter is being typed as I upload this, so more to come soon. I very much enjoy reading the _tips_ and reviews, thanks a shit load, and feel free to leave anonymous ones!


	7. Chapter 7

What? A super-fast update? This is madness! I'm now going to make my minimum word count 2100. Nothing less than that. Also, I'm testing out several new writing methods. Instead of just throwing it onto Word and reading it over a few times, I'm going to read through the entire fic online, plan the next chapter, write it on_ paperrr _and then type it out.

Just to be sure, I'm going to give it a quick read through after submitting the document of too. Yeah!

--

A fat yellow bumblebee hovered a few inches above a delicious, white flower. Uncertainly, it flew around its target in circles, trying to decide if it was this particular flower that smelled so sweet. It landed softly on its bright petals, momentarily ceasing the loud buzz that bees tend to make. As it carefully crawled towards the center of the tantalizing sugar aroma, a small chunk of wood the size of a plate flew through the warm air and whacked the flower right off its stem. The bee, momentarily confused at the sudden absence of its prize, flew away in a buzzing rage to find another, less danger-prone flower.

Another piece of wood flew out the kitchen window, this time hitting a tree.

"I thought I heard you cleaning this mess up last night." Sakura said cheerily, as if she had woken up and, for some mysterious reason, found they no longer had a kitchen table. She had decided, before going downstairs, that it would be best to approach this with anything but an angry disposition. After her now daily healing of her abdomen (her wounds kept reopening: yet another mystery with an unknown cause.) she had pulled herself into the kitchen and plopped in a chair. It felt odd to be sitting in a kitchen with just chairs. She supposed they'd have to start _eating _traditionally too, not that she minded wearing yukata. Sakura turned her face to Kabuto, who was standing in the doorway of the small kitchen. Apparently, he hadn't slept as well as her.

"So, are we going to clean the rest of this up, or am I going to find woodchips in my food every day?" Her tone was light, which Kabuto thought would surely annoy him, but it didn't. In fact, he rather welcomed it, because it meant that she probably wasn't likely to start swinging furniture at him again. But that fact that she had laughed, she'd _laughed _after all those insults, meant that she couldn't possibly have taken them too seriously. Scratching his head sleepily, Kabuto dragged his feet into the room and looked around. Now that it was light, he could see that there were indeed many pieces of broken wood that he hadn't seen the night before. In the dimly lit kitchen, and without his glasses, he hadn't been able to see as well. And even after piling up most of the wood, he'd lain awake mulling over the evening's events.

Kabuto rubbed his eyes, massaging them with his palms as tired people usually do. When he lowered his arms and opened his eyes, he found Sakura's green ones a foot from his own.

"You look like shit." She said, as if she were informing him of something interesting. He didn't move back, despite the obvious invasion of his personal bubble. Instead, he lifted an arm to place a hand on her lower chest. "You don't need to do that, I already did some healing this morning." Sakura stated. Kabuto sighed, "Do my hands look green to you?" She looked down to see that they were indeed not glowing green, but a light shade of blue. 'Oh, so just a checkup then.' She thought. "The sooner you get out of here, the better for both of us. You're village certainly knows you're gone by now, and I can't have Orochimaru thinking I've left for good." He let his hand drop to his side. "Medics heal faster than normal, so I'd say you've got at least another week or so until you're completely healed. Obviously, you can't rush such a serious injury, so don't keep pouring chakra into yourself like that." He figured Sakura knew this already, but a reminder never hurt.

Sakura gazed steadily into his face. He sounded, for the first time to her, like an actual doctor addressing a patient. There was no rudeness or dislike as he continued, "Well, seven days is a shorter estimate than before, which is surprising, as you keep doing things that would normally hinder your recovery." Sakura turned her eyes to the floor, where splintered wood still lay.

"Look, Kabuto. I won't apologize for getting angry, but I _will_ apologize for acting immaturely and without thought," She paused for a moment; just to make sure she had his attention. "And I suppose I should be grateful that you even took me here at all." She finished by biting her tongue. She'd just apologized to and thanked a village defector who was sided with Orochimaru.

Kabuto folded his arms and continued to stare at her. "While we're still on this subject, I want to ask you something." Her brow rose in question. "Did you think I was just screwing with you, or do you think I meant every word of what I said?" Sakura was able to answer this without hesitation. "I believe you meant every word. I'm used to nins from Konoha being called soft, and I'm fully aware that I've acted childishly before." She motioned towards the pile of wood visible from the window. "I think that I may be bothered by the fact that you were insulting the very people you grew up with. You'll always be seen as a traitor to Konoha." Kabuto blinked. "Well, I suppose that's normal. But we're both aware that I meant what I said, so of course, I have nothing to apologize for." Sakura nodded. "That's understandable."

Believing their conversation to be over, Kabuto turned away towards the cabinets. "Although," He paused and looked over his shoulder at her. "You _did _ruin a rather excellent game of cards." She smiled to let him know that she wasn't being serious, so he simply smirked. "You should be grateful, you were losing anyway." Sakura scoffed, "You jest." She bent down to scoop up more wood and crumpled playing cards, tossing them both out the window. She watched as a light breeze picked up a few of the cheap, papery cards carried them away. As he set water to boil for coffee, Kabuto wondered how someone could even suggest to play cards with their captor. They both knew she would leave of she could, 'But still,' he thought to himself, 'she must be that friendly by nature to even consider socializing.'

The rest of the morning was spent sweeping splinter sized wood out the door, with small talk occasionally passing between the two.

--

A masked ANBU dashed from branch to branch in the noon sun. It's warmth beat down on his back as he leapt through the trees, like a hot hand pushing him foreword. He glanced to the ground beneath him every so often, and on the rare occasion that the breeze picked up, he sniffed the air. This is how he was able to catch the scent of decay before he saw the source of it. Eighteen decomposing bodies lay strewn about a small forest clearing, each and every one showing signs of a fight. The ANBU lightly landed beside two of them. He didn't need a thorough examination to know who had killed here. A crushed chest and a skull cracked into pieces was the obvious work of Sakura Haruno. Lifting a hand, he made several signals to the surrounding forest, and two others appeared immediately on either side of him.

"Eighteen Oto nins, but no sign of Haruno." He said tonelessly. The other ANBU shook their heads. "We haven't found anything. No scent, no sign that she was taken forcefully." The third ANBU, a young woman, held up a finger. "She was probably taken while knocked out." The others agreed, "That's possible. Let's keep looking. Report back if anything is found." "Right." And they were off again, dashing about the trees.

--

The softest of taps was enough to bring Kakashi from his doze, and he was on his feet when the ANBU stepped into the room from an open window. "The others found many Otonin bodies in a clearing, but no sign of Haruno. We haven't found anything that indicates she was captured, but it's possible she was unconscious." Kakashi nodded, and turned again to the chair he'd just vacated, sitting back now in it. 'They may already know we're searching for her. What if Orochimaru doesn't know she's been captured? Damn, where the hell in Sound could she be?' His thoughts resumed their anxious flow while Naruto sat on the end of the hotel bed, toying angrily, and with waning patience, with the bead around his neck.

--

Two bored medical nins sat on the floor of an outdoor walkway, which surrounded the interior wall of the inn. The afternoon had grown humid due to the heavy rainfall the previous night, so being indoors was simply unacceptable in such weather. They sat with their legs dangling over the edge of the walkway, and their heads rested against the pillars. A plate of watermelon seeds sat between them. Sakura glanced at the plate, which had a puddle of red juice on it from the remaining half of the melon. She thought that her brain must resemble that red puddle, because there was no way her insides weren't melting right now.

"Hey…" She said softly. "Hn?" Kabuto responded without opening his eyes. "I'll bet," Sakura drawled, "That I can spit those seeds farther than you can." A few moments of silence passed, with only the sounds of bees and distant birds. Kabuto rolled his head sideways to look at the plate of black seeds. "I'll bet I wouldn't care if you could." He mumbled.

The two of them sighed as the muggy air mixed with the heat from the hotsprings. Sakura was already in a knee length, elbow length yukata she'd found in an upstairs closet. The length was for children, but it fit perfectly. She wondered if it had been altered by someone who, like Sakura, couldn't stand the boiling weather. Even so, the thin cotton was beginning to stick to her skin. Using the least possible movement, she carefully tugged down the sleeves until her shoulders were just barely visible. She then turned very slowly and lifted her legs into the shade of the roof, so that her back was now against the polished pillar. It didn't help much, but it wasn't like she could sit around in panties. Involuntarily, she remembered Gaara's brother and that stupid black thing he was always wearing in the desert.

'Uggh…'

Kabuto, at her slight movement, had cracked open an eye to see an unexpected gorgeous shoulder being revealed. Her clothes conformed to her body more than ever. She couldn't be doing that on purpose, could she? He examined her closer.

"Hey…" He said quietly. "Mm?" She responded in the same manner as he. "Whassat on your shoulder?" Sakura slowly turned to look at her shoulder. She could see nothing of interest there. "What? I don' see anythin'." Kabuto, also using minimum movement, reached over and rested his fingers on a long mark near her collarbone. It looked like a typically deep ninja injury. Sakura was too hot to furrow her brow at him or swat his hand away. She simply shrugged and mumbled, "So? It's a scar from a bad fight. Big deal. I prolly never got 'round to healin' it…" Kabuto's closeness, and his finger resting on her shoulder was far too hot for Sakura's liking, and she lightly moved her shoulder to show this. His finger did not move, but now burned a light green. Sakura sighed. "Cut it out, it's too hot for medical jutsu. Besides, you can't totally heal scars." But he continued to allow his chakra to rebuild the cells around her scar, turning the light colored tissue into a darker tan. He wasn't satisfied until it was little more than a blemish. His fingers lingered a moment longer, before plopping down again. It really was a too hot to be doing anything but sitting.

"What was that for?" Sakura asked blandly. Kabuto just shrugged. "Bored." He admitted quietly. Minutes crawled past.

"Y'know…" Sakura mumbled while smirking, "I've got other scars too." Kabuto could have sworn he felt the temperature raise a few more degrees.

--

Thanks for the reviews, they really help! I hope you're not _too _bored with this, because the next chapter is steam and more steam. Now that I've raised my standards for chapter length, I'm guessing this will be complete in 4 or 5 more chapters.


	8. Chapter 8

SEX! Huh? A WHOLE TUB OF IT. What? Where?!

DOWN THERE.

--

It took the slightest of movements for Sakura to shrug the thin cotton of her yukata down a few more inches. Kabuto's eyes, magnetically drawn to her now revealed shoulders, immediately scanned the skin for another scar. He gently placed a hand on her bare arm and let his chakra flow out to the tissue. The contact put Sakura into autopilot. She took hold of his arm and pulled him forewords, her neck now caressing his face. Kabuto reveled in her scent. The two, in such close proximity, began fumbling to place their hands in a position pleasing to both. They began panting slightly in their eagerness to position themselves against the wooden post. Kabuto nuzzled her neck and tugged at the hem of her thin yukata impatiently. Sakura's hands moved up his arms, then to his shoulders, where she pulled herself up, closing the distance between their faces. She thought he was lowering himself to her as well, but instead, Sakura felt him… standing up?

Sakura opened her eyes in time to see Kabuto turning the corner into the kitchen. Utterly bewildered, she half sat-half lay against the beam, feeling annoyed and unsatisfied. Apparently, they'd been moving too fast for Kabuto. Sakura closed her eyes and huffed in disappointment. The faucet turned on and the sound of a cup filling reached her ears. Sakura then realized how hot she was. Her bangs stuck to the side of her face, and she couldn't calm down and control her breathing. Her heart was pounding- the thrill had sent blood through every nook and cranny of her excited body. Sakura closed her eyes again and tried to relax herself, although still annoyed. Maybe later she could find some alone time and-

Sakura bolted upright, water dripping from her flushed, but now cold and wet, face. Kabuto stood beside her, an empty glass in his hand. Oh, for crying out loud.

"That was completely unnecessary!" She cried, "You think the heat was possessing me or something?" Kabuto's brow lifted a fraction to show that the latter statement was indeed why he had just dumped water on her face. He calmly stared down into her frustrated features. The water had cooled off her heated body, but not her mind. "It's not like doing it would break some huge taboo, haven't you ever heard of 'no strings attached' sex?" Kabuto set the glass down on the plate of watermelon seeds, and then crouched down where he had been before, previous to their fumbling. "Haven't _you _ever heard of treason against your village?" He responded blandly. "Treason," Sakura shot back immediately, "would be giving you information about our village between yelling out your name and moaning during sex. If you subtract the information giving bit, what does that leave you?" Sakura's bluntness took Kabuto off guard for a moment, and he gaped at her. 'She's so straight foreword… and shameless. What do they _teach _their kunoichi in Konoha?' He thought, quite dumbfounded. He cleared his throat, ready to give more excuses, but Sakura quickly stood up. She yanked up her yukata around her shoulders, and stomped past Kabuto into the entrance hall of the inn, where the stairs led to the second floor.

He was still for a few seconds, listening to her angry stomping up the stairs. He was rushing his thoughts, quickly weighing the cons with the pros.

Sakura was halfway up the stairs when she felt a hand on her shoulder, brushing aside her damp hair. She didn't move, asking quietly, "You just can't make up your mind, can you?" She said, but huffed and smiled. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and another held her shoulder as he began nuzzling her neck. "You just can't stop teasing me, can you?" He murmured. She responded by tilting her neck back, letting her head fall on his shoulder as he inhaled her scent once more. "I guess not…" She moved her back against the wall of the stairway. "You're so fun to tease." She mumbled. Kabuto moved with her, his lips making their way from her shoulder up to her mouth. He reached down, pulling eagerly one the tie that held her yukata together. With the slightest of tugs, it fell open, and Kabuto pressed himself against her, his hands sliding down her back. It was when Sakura arched her back suddenly that Kabuto took her lips in a breath-stopping kiss. Sakura was surprised, where had he learned to kiss like that? It didn't matter; Sakura opened her mouth and kissed him back. She gripped the bottom of his thin shirt and tugged it up, their searing kiss only breaking to take it off.

Sakura gasped in surprise as Kabuto's hands grabbed hold of her upper thighs and lifted her off the stairs. Wrapping her arms around his neck, he carried her upstairs to the closest room, where they fell onto a futon.

A shirtless Kabuto straddled himself over Sakura's open yukata. She pulled it from around her shoulders and threw it over his shoulder, not even watching where it landed. Kabuto smirked at her curvy form before lowering himself to her breasts. Sakura gasped again and watched, blushing, as his tongue traced a small circle around the tip of her sensitive breasts. When he gently began massaging her other with his hand, neither was surprised to hear her moaning in delight. The heat began rising between her legs, craving to be touched. Sakura ran her hands through his unbound hair, pressing herself against Kabutos throbbing excitement. Kabuto grinded himself between her legs and reached between them to undo the catch of his loose, knee length pants. Between the fumbling and positioning, he continued to suckle her chest, driving Sakura insane with pleasure. Just when Sakura thought she couldn't wait any longer, she suddenly felt something part her wet folds, Kabuto's hard member hovering just above her entrance. She tilted her head back in anticipation as Kabuto slid himself into her.

Kabuto groaned and buried himself into her neck, and Sakura sighed and pushed upwards to fill herself completely. The effect was nothing short of incredible, and Kabuto began pulling himself in and out in quick succession. Sakura pulled her legs up higher, moving and gasping with his thrusting rhythm. She moaned loudly as he pushed himself into her again and again, but it still didn't seem enough "K-kabuto," she cried, "Go faster!" Kabuto gladly obliged, almost reaching his peak at the sound of his name escaping from her flushed lips. He'd never imagined she'd feel this incredible. They were lost in the heat, crashing against each other in their fervor to reach an orgasm. Sakura gasped into his ear, "I'm so close!" Her moaning was having the same effect on him as well, and with several more thrusts, Kabuto groaned again and felt her insides grip around him; with a final thrust, he quickly pulled out as they both finished in satisfying unison, Sakura groaning in fulfillment.

A small bead of sweat rolled down Kabuto's forehead, and onto the pillow of the futon beneath them, and he collapsed beside Sakura. Surely, this had been a Summer's day well spent as the two of them lay, sweaty, naked, and still panting.

--

A masked anbu crouched behind a fallen tree, examining something on the ground. Upon further inspection, he concluded it was an old playing card, it's ink smeared by the weather. More importantly, it had the slightest hint of Sakura Haruno's scent. He lingered in his position for a moment longer, taking in his surroundings with a trained eye, then leapt off into to forest to inform his group of the discovery.

He had a strong feeling they were getting closer to finding Haruno with every passing hour. As he dashed from branch to branch, however, two concealed Oto nins trailed silently behind him, patiently waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

--

I don't have much to say on this chapter. I know it was still short. The next one is almost done. This was my first lemon, and there will probably be another one later. The 3rd quarter of school just ended, you know that huge rush to get put-off work handed in?

Yeah…


	9. Chapter 9

I know that lemon was utterly unsatisfying, but I figure you must already be disgruntled with me, so this chapter is all action! Hate mee!

--

A quiet knock at the inn's front gate awoke a sluggish minded Kabuto from his sleep. Beside him lay Sakura, beautiful and asleep. At first he thought it was just after sunset, until he realized the pale light flowing in through the window was from the waning moon behind the trees.

The knock sounded softly again, and Kabuto, now fully awake with heightened senses, slowly rose and dragged open the rice paper door. He padded silently down the stairs to the entrance hall, slid outside the main door, and stepped into the cool night air. He stopped walking when he reached the heavy wooden gate, and lifted a hand, knocking twice on its weathered wood. A raspy voice from the other side mixed with the crisp summer sounds, expertly blending with the noises around them. Only a trained ear would be able to hear;

"Kabuto san, I bring news from the south… It is grave news…" Kabuto lowered his head and mumbled, "Continue." The hushed voice began again. "Four nights ago, Sasuke kun stole into Orochimaru sama's room while he lay recovering… Orochimaru is dead, Sasuke killed him. He then left with another man with sharpened teeth… he said they were going to find two others…"

The voice quieted. Kabuto's breath was trapped momentarily in his lungs, but he let it out slowly. Orochimaru was dead… at last.

"I see. And what will you do?" It was silent for a moment but for the serene call of night's birds. The voice replied tonelessly,

"I will find elsewhere to serve. The world is always in need of information…" There was a soft rustling of forest floor, and the person was gone. Kabuto was left standing by the gate, wondering about his future for the first time in many, many years.

He thought of the bodies lying on the cold table in his father's basement. He thought of the clinic in Konoha, and of the rooms full of test tubes in Orochimaru's lairs. Kabuto thought for a very long while about his research, and how long it had taken to compile it all onto papers and files and more papers, and how none of it was really needed anymore. He thought about all the believably attainable goals of Orochimaru, and how easily they had come to nothing. He turned to look up at the moon, and he thought of the lovely girl upstairs, sleeping naked in a futon.

It was as if the moon was staring back at him, gently imploring as to why he was not laying beside Sakura that very moment.

Everything seemed very simple now.

Having nothing better to do with his now free life, Kabuto walked briskly back towards the inn, intent on sliding back into the warm covers with her.

--

As soon as Naruto's foot landed on a branch, he'd leapt off to the next one. There was only one time in his life he could remember running so fast, and it had been a rainy day many years ago. But that had been for his other teammate. Tonight, Naruto was dashing through trees for Sakura, and Sakura alone. Nothing and nobody could puncture his belief that he _was _going to find her and they _were _going to bring her safely home.

Three more dark and blurry figures were moving around him, each trying to keep up.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called through the moonlit trees, "You've got to slow down, the Kyuubi's chakra is rising-" "I _know _that!" Naruto barked, his patience thin. He was struggling to push down his devilish chakra and still run as fast as possible at the same time. Had it only been hours ago they'd received word from the scout? It seemed like days ago. He had been sitting, frustrated and hot tempered in the hotel room when one of the Anbu had jumped onto the windowsill. In a few sentences he'd relayed all the info about the card they'd found, the scent on it, and where the scent was leading them. Kakashi and his fussy pupil had been ready in a flash and had reached the heart of the forest in no time.

However, more than anger, more than frustration, Naruto and Kakashi were deeply confused. Why had a playing card held their teammates scent? If Sakura were a prisoner, she wouldn't be playing cards around a table with her jailors. The thought that this might be some sick, fucked up trick someone was playing hadn't yet presented itself to Naruto, but Kakashi wondered just how much distress she could be in if she was lounging around playing games.

The leaf nin pounded onward.

--

The soft crunching of dried leaves and dirt pathway was heard throughout the moonlit woods. The four cloaked figures were in a rush, and had no time to waste being quiet. Their goal was simple anyway; Find the medic girl, bring her with them, find Itachi, end of story. The group's leader was growing more impatient with every step towards the abandoned inn. He picked up his pace, the others jogging to catch up.

"Hey, Sasuke, why didn't you get the broad when you left Orochimaru's hideout? Then you could gotten her before picking up Karin-bitch and Juugo." The moon cast an eerie glow about the man's white hair, playing off its light shimmering strands.

"Because I didn't know she was here until we'd tortured that leaf spy a few days back. Don't make me repeat myself." He said blandly. Sasuke had no doubt in his mind that thing would go smoothly. It was be easy to convince Sakura to come with them, all he had to do was pretend to be rescuing her. How convenient it would be to have a skilled medic on hand for his fight with Itachi. He heard Karin sniffle angrily behind him.

"Sasuke kun," She whispered, "How do you know she'll agree to come?" Karin was obviously feeling threatened by this new competition from her beloved Uchiha's past.

This might hinder her chances of finally claiming Sasuke for her own.

"Because she is naive, and completely infatuated with me." He said quite simply. Karin huffed. Suigetsu, on the other hand, merely rolled his eyes and frowned at Sasuke's disgusting admiration for himself. Juugo said nothing.

--

Curls of steam wrapped themselves about Sakura while she slowly slid into the hot spring. She let out a long sigh and relaxed her muscles. Yes, this was most definitely the best time to relax in an onsen during summer. Had the two of them done this in the middle of the day, they might've gotten a heat stroke, and Sakura had had enough slipping around hot springs for one lifetime, thank you very much.

She lazily moved her eyes towards a rock a few yards away, where an equally relaxed Kabuto had his head resting against the bamboo partition. She had woken up when he was coming back up the stairs, and neither had felt very tired at all, both haven fallen asleep before evening. So here it was, the middle of the night, and the two were literally blowing off some steam. The fantastic sex from a few hours ago allowed them to sit on the same side of the partition without feeling self-conscious. Sakura turned herself to face him, sliding further down her rock so that the water reached her chin.

"So what _were_ you doing outside, then?" She asked casually. Kabuto looked over at her when she spoke. He gazed up at the brilliant sky overhead for a few moments before answering.

"It was one of Orochimaru's spies, who moves from base to base with information. You could call it a Ninja Express, I s'pose." Sakura had gone from showing mild interest to alertness at the mention of 'Oochimaru' and 'spy'.

"What did he say?" Her tone indicated the conversation was no longer casual.

"Orochimaru's dead."

Sakura inhaled sharply, meaning to gasp but instead sucked up hot water, and spent several moments coughing. Well, that was most certainly not expected. Kabuto went on.

"He also said that Sasuke killed him and that he had left the current base four or five days ago. Most likely, he's off to find his brother." There was a stretched moment of silence between the two, which frogs and night birds happily filled with singing. Sakura stared back at the man across from her.

"I didn't think things would be sprung into motion so quickly. You understand this means I have to leave, right? I can't stay here. My teammates are looking for me and they need to know- " But she was interrupted by Kabuto.

"You weren't worried about your team before. And how are you going to explain where you got this information about Sasuke?" Sakura didn't answer.

"Listen," he said, "There is a reason I just told you what the spy said. You have barely even thought of your team or your village in the past few days." Sakura opened her mouth instinctively to protest, but she was stopped again by Kabuto moving closer to speak. Deep down, Sakura knew what he'd said was true.

"And I know you've already fully healed. We both know it. You obviously healed much faster than was previously thought. Listen- I'm a free man now, Sakura. I don't have any obligation to anyone at all. You couldn't imagine how great it feels to be unbound."

Sakura stared at him. What was supposed to be a relaxed conversation in a hot springs had suddenly turned into something life changing.

"Sakura, if you wanted freedom, you could have it. What do you owe your village? Your whole life has been spent risking your life for someone who never cared. What have you gotten in return? In serving Orochimaru, I benefited. I learned more from him than any parent or fellow peer could have taught me. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Sakura was breathless. What was he saying? Things were moving so quickly now! For a terrible moment, Sakura felt like a twelve year old again, unable to stop time, unable to stop things from happening so quickly. 'Wait,' she thought, 'wait!'

"Oh no," She whispered, "Kabuto, I could never leave my village. How could you suggest that?" But Kabuto was beside her now, he placed his hands on either side of her head and gazed into those beautiful seafoam eyes.

"Believe me, it isn't as hard as you think it is. What the hell have you been doing in Konoha? Training and doing missions and waiting for someone who hasn't thought of you in years? Is that what you want for the rest of your life? To waste away, hoping that someday everything will right itself? On the off chance that Sasuke lives through his fight, and you welcome him back with open arms, do you think he'll fall into them? You're worth _so_ much more than that, Sakura."

And he lowered his head to hers and kissed her like no one else had. Sakura could taste possibility and chance. Something her inner self had been trying to tell her for years came to the surface all at once; that Sasuke would never love her the way she wanted, she would never wake up to see the morning light playing on his hair as he slept beside her. He wouldn't kiss her the way Kabuto did now, so Sakura kissed back with all she was worth.

He slowly pulled away and gazed sternly at her. She had so much to lose if she ran away from her home with this man, yet so much to gain. She deserved to do something impulsive, right? This moment belonged to her. As the steam rolled up between them, Sakura opened her mouth to tell him her decision, impulsive and reckless though it was. He never got to hear it, because at that moment four kunai flew through the warm night towards them, suddenly forcing them apart.

--

OH lawd, I love action. This fic is almost done.. Sorry that the updates are irregular, but I'm glad I planned out the ending before start this.


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks for the revs. Sorry this fic is ending soon, but things've got to keep moving.

Fight scene, woohoo!

--

Sakura instinctively dived out of the way, leaping back several yards until she landed beside the towel rack, which she quickly made use of. Of course, Kabuto had been correct in saying she was completely healed, so a fight wasn't a physical issue now. Only two scars could be seen on her abdomen before a towel quickly covered them. Sakura tucked in the corner above her breast and hoped that it stayed for whatever battle might take place. Kabuto had somehow managed to pull his dark shinobi style capris on while his eyes darted about the woods where the kunai had come from. Not moving his eyes from the trees, his hand felt around the wall of the inn until he found the light switch for the outdoor walkway. He flipped it on.

'Damn,' thought Sakura, 'where was he hiding the pants..?' She shifted her thoughts from her thin towel to the woods, where figures were beginning to emerge. Whoever they had been expecting, it certainly wasn't Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura was frozen to her very core as his eyes, despite their red color, stared icily at her. A long time ago, this might have been an ideal meeting for her. Wrapped in a towel miles from any town, yeah, that would've sounded great. Just peachy. But as Kabuto threw her two kunai to defend herself, she knew that this was not a desirable situation at all. Sasuke watched her catch the throwing knives with a smirk, as if the thought of anyone here fighting him was funny.

"Sakura-chan, you've changed." He spoke blandly, for someone who always seemed pissed off. Sakura clenched her teeth. Whether he was talking about her body or her willingness to fight was of no importance to Sakura.

"Wish I could say the same for you, Sasuke." If he really was on his way to kill his brother, than his reason for being here couldn't be good news for the two of them. Her calculating mind raced about, working to form coherent thoughts. This was such an unprecedented situation! Sasuke frowned at the absence of the honorific his former teammate had always used.

"Sakura, I require your medical skills in something important to me. I'm very near to obtaining my goal of revenge. You will come with my team and assist in healing me after battle." Karin exhaled sharply beside him. She now regretted not studying medical jutsu, and fixed Sakura with a bitchy glare. Sakura's thoughts fell into place very neatly after his revelation of medical needs. Well, she'd been in a decision-making mood only moments before, so why not make some more? Sakura looked him right in the eye and spoke clearly.

"No. I am not going with you. I am not helping you. You… you left us- _me_ a long time ago. Don't you remember my offer to you? Or was I that insignificant in your grand scheme? You believed you didn't need my help then, so you couldn't _possibly_ need it now." Sakura trembled as she spoke, adrenaline coursing through her rebelliously. Sasuke's eyes sharpened menacingly. Things were not going as planned. Impossible, things _always _went as planned. He took a step foreword, and glanced at Kabuto, who raised an arm lazily in mock welcome.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun." Sasuke looked back and forth between the two, his expression never betraying his thoughts. The cold, metallic sound of a blade sliding from its sheath rang around the onsen. Sasuke threw back his cloak and raised his blade.

"You_ will _come with us, or lose your lover."

Sakura failed to suppress a grin, and looked over to Kabuto, who was chuckling at the Uchiha's threat. Sasuke's team looked at them, confusion scrawled on their faces.

"Ha ha, you don't get it Sasuke. We're not in love or anything." She said plainly, waving her hand as if to brush off the thought..

"Yeah, more like enemies with benefits." Kabuto added suggestively, turning Sakura's grin into a knowing smirk. They huffed a few more laughs, then continuing to surprise team Hebi, took their fighting stances. The atmosphere became serious.

"Sasuke, my head will roll before I heal your sorry ass in battle. I'm a tool to my village, not to your revenge." Sakura could feel the danger level rising from Sasuke with every passing second, but she was rooted to her decision like a tree trunk to earth. Team Hebi took fighting stances as well. Suigetsu gripped his new blade, which was recognizable to Sakura. Karin glanced nervously at Juugo, who glanced at Sasuke, who turned his eyes to Kabuto's blazing blue palms. Now this was a ground that all present were familiar with- the very _scent_ of battle wafted about, mixing in with the steam from the onsen.

--

Naruto's heightened senses and Kakashi's sharp nerves detected several chakra signals straight ahead. They were running towards it, heartbeats pounding like a drum in their head. That steady noise set a beat to their thoughts, which were repeating the same name. Sakura, Sakura. Sakura, Sakura. But then, something made them halt so quickly that the ninja trailing behind had gone a few trees ahead before stopping as well. Naruto, panting heavily, slowly turned his head to Kakashi, who looked back at his pupil. Sasuke's familiar chakra was all around them, pulsing murderously about the forest. If they were confused before, now they were completely bewildered. They were so close… One of the nin pointed ahead, and they turned to see a rising cloud of smoke or steam, off in the distance. After another shocked glance at each other, the two dashed off again, urging their legs to carry them faster. A miniscule light glowed dimly in the distance.

And then they were leaping over the high wall, then onto the roof of the two story inn, looking down into a square courtyard where steam rose from a large pool of water. Naruto caught sight of pink hair below, and after calling out her name, jumped down behind his teammate. Kakashi follwed, but the other leaf nin stayed perched on the roof. Sakura had of course felt him approaching, because the Kyuubi's chakra magnified it. Naruto had noticed the other person beside Sakura and glared at him, but Kabuto turned to acknowledge Kakashi, who was in turn wondering why his other pupil was clad in only a towel.

"Look, we don't have time for arguing over past disputes! Save it for when Sasuke's out of the picture." Kabuto yelled.

--

Sasuke frowned at the newly arrived complications. Had he known capturing Sakura would lead to this sort of confrontation, he would have dropped the plan altogether. He immediately shifted his attention to the one person that always held him back. Naruto glared right back at him, his eyes a brighter red than Sasuke's own. It would be best to leave immediately. Several tense moments passed before someone spoke.

"Naruto, still as uncontrollable as ever, I see."

"Sasuke, still an asshole, as usual! You're coming home _now_, even if I have to bring you back half dead!" Naruto screeched.

"I don't have time to deal with you. If you give me Sakura I will return after my brother is dead. I require her medical expertise." Naruto turned to Sakura, who shook her head. Naruto's face fell in confusion.

"Sakura chan... if you go, he'll come back! You can bring him back! Sakura chan…?" But she shook her head again. Kabuto watched her tense up, her internal battle almost visible.

"No," she said, "I'm not helping him." Her voice was suddenly quiet. "How could you ask that of me, after all he's put us through?" She turned and looked at her beloved friend.

Sasuke, assessing the situation, murmured commands to his team. "I'm going on ahead, stay here and do what you must to capture her. Karin can find me by my chakra." He paused and looked at them. "Do not return to me without her." He said stiffly. If it weren't for his incredibly dangerous air, he would have been met with protest, but they silently glared ahead. Sasuke stole one last glance at his old team, and then vanished into the forest they had come from. Enraged, Naruto made to run after him, but a wall of water knocked him off his back.

So that was it, Sasuke had left them again. Naruto bellowed his name, calling him back. Kakashi's shoulders sank down a fraction, but Sakura stood still. She shifted her focus from the empty spot Sasuke had left to the three nin around it, and then to Kabuto. He looked right back at her, and an unspoken message seemed to pass between them.

'If only we'd met sooner.'

Kabuto pushed his glasses further up his nose, and Sakura made certain her towel was tucked in nice'n tight.

"You know," she said to him, her tone light, "You're completely free, so you don't _have_ to fight them." But he merely shrugged.

"Yeah, but I can if I want to. Freedom's pretty beneficial. You should try it out sometime." He replied conversationally.

"It _was _all just for fun, right?" She asked him casually. He smirked and turned back to team Hebi.

"Of course it was. No strings attached, remember?"

Mirroring his grin, they dashed foreword to fight like the ninja they were.

--

Despite Naruto's yelling, Kakashi had been listening carefully to their conversation. He joined his pupil's side and rushed foreword with her, Naruto close behind. As Sakura ran ahead of them all, she jumped up high and brought her foot down on the ground beside the hot spring. The water exploded upward, and Kakashi to charge through its heat.

Juugo, unable to see through the cloudy explosion of rock and water, found a kunai planted snugly in his shoulder before his could even rev up his own cursed chakra. He dashed backwards, dodging more shuriken whipped at him from the roof. He ran up a wooden beam and began fighting the leaf nin there.

Suigetsu's form morphed out of the hot water as it splashed down in the form of rain and mist. His deadly blade swept across Kabuto, and for a moment his sharkish face was triumphant, until Kabuto vanished in a puff of smoke. 'Damn clone…' He looked to his right and saw Naruto standing on his blade, intent on killing him.

"This sword looks pretty fucking familiar, you grave robbing bastard!" He growled angrily. Suigetsu flashed a toothy grin and rotated his blade, forcing Naruto to jump off. As a clawed hand made to slash at Suigetsu, a second, bluish one appeared in the hot mist. The sharkish nin waited half a second until both Naruto and Kabuto were in his zone of attack, then swept his great blade across horizontally. He felt it slice flesh, and peered about to see which one had fallen.

Kabuto had ducked under the blade and shot foreward to Suigetsu's legs, which he grabbed fiercely. Bone shattered beneath his grip, and the white haired man howled in pain. Kabuto had to admit he was quite surprised. He'd assumed the man would melt into water, but apparently this was not a clone. The fine mist was dissipating slightly, and Kabuto quickly glanced over his shoulder at Naruto. He'd caught the blade with his own hands, but the Kyuubi's powerful chakra had protected him. As their eyes met briefly, both were certain the other was remembering a similar moment in a sunny field, a long time ago. Suigetsu groaned as was making to sit up, but Naruto was quicker, and ran at him on all fours.

Kabuto moved away from the two and scanned the area for Sakura. He moved through the mist and caught site of Kakashi and Juugo on the roof, meaning Sakura must be fighting Karin. Although they had worked for the same man, Kabuto knew very little about Karin's fighting style. A sudden, strong wind blasted through the courtyard, followed by rocks and pebbles. As the dust from the small explosion mixed with the mist in the air, anyone fighting near the onsen dashed away from it. They couldn't risk inhaling the finely crushed earth as it clung to the mist.

Kabuto leapt onto the roof and stared across to the other side, where Naruto was joining the fight against Juugo. If Naruto was up there, then Suigetsu must be dead, he figured. So then where was..? Another loud crash sounded near the inn's front gate answered him. As he leapt towards the sound, he discovered that the inn no longer had a gate, or a front door, for that matter.

More amused than worried, he watched Karin struggle out of the remains of rubble and wood. Kabuto looked to his right and saw Sakura standing right beside him on the roof, not quite as amused as he was. Besides a few scratches on one leg, she was in perfect health. She was looking over her shoulder the fight happening on the distant roof, checking on her friends. Satisfied, she glanced sideways at him and spoke over Karin's loud coughing.

"I'm just going to wait a few seconds for her to get up." She said, sounding almost bored. Kabuto grinned.

"That's terribly sweet of you." He said sarcastically, "But from what I know of Karin, she's very good at detecting chakra. Even masking it won't help." And sure enough, as the woman below stood up and brushed herself off, she turned immediately to the roof where the two were standing at ease.

"Get down here, you whore! I'll take you to Sasuke in pieces, bitch!" She shrieked loudly. Sakura raised her pink brows.

"Hm," Kabuto clucked his tongue. "You aren't planning on taking that from her, are you?" Sakura made a face, pretending to be considering a difficult question.

"Oh, I don't know..." And she shrugged before her arms were a blur of hand seals. Kabuto dashed sideways along the roof, which trembled as Sakura slammed her palm into it. When he turned around, he had to stop and admire the traditional leaf village technique. Great roots had launched up from the ground at top speed and wrapped themselves tightly around Karin's body. She struggled in futile for a few moments, wrenching her shoulders upwards. With a sickening cracking sound, Kabuto noted that the woman was now dead, a thick root curled around her neck. He glanced back at Sakura, and immediately realized something was wrong.

Sakura was bent over, her hands wrapped tightly over her torso. 'Don't tell me her wounds…' Kabuto moved back to her, but saw that she was actually gripping a kunai in her side. Thankfully, it wasn't very deep. Sakura's hands produced a familiar green light, and she carefully healed what must have been Karin's last attack. The kunai fell with a clatter on the roof tiles, and the wound closed up. She turned around and wiped away the tiny trickle of blood the kunai had pushed out of her mouth. As Kabuto slipped his hands in his pocket, their eyes met briefly before Sakura looked away towards the fight on the roof. He knew she could tell by his expression what he planned on doing.

"Be right back…" He muttered. Kabuto leapt off the roof and skidded to the ground below, where he walked through the destroyed entrance of the inn, leaping over the roots. He moved up the staircase where he had first kissed her, past the room they had slept in, then to the hallway where she'd teased him about strip poker. They were all short, sweet memories of a blazing summer. Yanking open the door to his room, Kabuto grabbed two packs that sat in the corner and an extra haori from the closet. When he returned to the roof, Sakura was watching her teammates fight a winning battle against Juugo. She felt the light material on her shoulder, and slipped an arm gratefully into the sleeves of the traditional cotton jacket. They stood there for a while, watching the fight.

"You're leaving." She murmured quietly. The breeze blew softly, carrying leaves with it.

"Yeah, so we may or may not meet again." His tone was brisk. She looked up at him, and this time their eyes stayed locked. Sakura's smile was genuine but with the slightest hint of sadness.

"I think," she said after a moment, "I'm going back to Konoha. You've given me a lot to think about. Who knows, I might defect and run into you somewhere." Sakura said the last part jokingly, but they both knew she was taking the idea of leaving Konoha seriously. A deafening crash shook the roof they stood on as Kakashi delivered the final blow to their opponent. The explosion from his jutsu sent dust everywhere. For a few seconds, the Konoha nins couldn't see across the roof to the two medics, and Kabuto swept Sakura up in his arms and kissed her fully on the lips. Sakura's hands lay against his bare chest and she tilted her head, savoring the moment. He pulled back, breaking the kiss, and took in every one of her features, committing them to memory. His fingers threaded through her hair and pulled something from her pink strands. Sakura saw a little piece of cottonweed fluff drift away from his fingertips, sailing away in the moonlight until it was out of reach. With a final look, Kabuto ran his finger along her cheek, then turned around and ran along the roof. Sakura watched him leap into the forest without a backwards glance.

She stood on the tiles until her teammates jumped next to her, Naruto holding his arm out.

"Sakura Chaaan! It hurts…!" Snapped from her daze, she turned and giggled at Naruto, who was grinning that familiar after-victory grin. She didn't notice Kakashi watching her carefully. There was definitely something different about her smile that night.

--

Woah.. that was kind of long, for me. The next fic that I'm writing will have longer chapters :D Okay, almost done. By the way, if you've any advice on fight scenes I'd like to hear it. Kishimoto's fight scenes have always stood out amongst manga because of how well thought out they are, and I think it's hard for any writer to stay true to that. So if any part of it seemed unreal or inaccurate to the world of Naruto, drop a rev!

Another thing- if the idea of breaking away and doing things for yourself holds any interest to you, that's the theme of my next fic. Au Revoir!


	11. Epilogue

Epilogue

--

The shivering leaves danced in the only breeze of the day outside Sakura's window. She glanced out at the movement, but quickly returned to the paper in front of her.

'Write a report on your mission, and don't leave out a single detail.' Is what Tsunade had told her after a very long interrogation, er, discussion from her Shishou. Well, that wouldn't be too hard. All she had to do was write that Kabuto was a bland sort of laid-back guy who let his prisoner waltz about in a yukata and play cards. It didn't sound believable at all, and she was leaving out only one relevant fact, but writing 'all the details' was certainly out of the question. Sakura chewed the end of her pencil and shuffled her feet. So far, she'd gotten to the part about smashing the kitchen table to smithereens, and she'd made sure the part about verbally defending Konoha was _extremely _clear. With any luck that would make whatever she wrote next a lot less suspicious. While she was supposed to include things like 'information obtained', Sakura would never write what she'd really discovered. That freedom was tempting her, that she'd almost followed someone on a whim yet again, and that watermelon tasted best in summer.

There was a knock at the door, and Sakura, ready for an excuse to avoid writing, leapt up to answer it. The cheerful face of Kakashi poked into her doorway, one hand raised in greeting.

"Hey, Sakura chan, mind if I come in?" She stepped back to let him through, wondering what could possibly take the jonin from his comforters on his day off. They sat down at her small kitchen table, and Kakashi glanced out the window before speaking.

"I'll cut to the chase Sakura, you know how blunt I am." Sakura's bored mind snapped into focus. He couldn't know…

"I'm not going to ask or pry, but I want you to know that I am aware that something went on between you and Kabuto Yakushi several weeks ago. You didn't say anything on our careful journey back to Konoha, so I wondered if it was about Sasuke. However, that doesn't seem to be the case." He paused to let her think up whatever explanation she was prepared to give.

"I know you'd never consciously put your life her in Hidden Leaf into jeapordy, but I've got to know. If you've committed any sort of treason-"

"Kakashi sensei, please wait!" She interrupted, as he assumed she would. He knew her well, and so knew that Sakura would never betray her village purposely, but this was the only way to be one hundred percent sure that Kabuto hadn't done anything to her. Sakura's speech was rushed.

"I don't mind telling you, really. But not Naruto, I could never tell him. But if you picked up on what happened at the Onsen, then please don't think that it was anything more than… what it looked lik." Sakura was surprised she had it in her to blush. It must be because this was Kakashi she was talking to, who despite being a pervert would never go against his village. Slightly embarrassed, she continued in a lower tone.

"I didn't give anything away, no information or hints or tips about _anything, _except.." Kakashi raised a brow.

"Except…?"

"Except that maybe kunoichi should be trained harder for, uh, captor situations." This was as detailed as Sakura would go, and if Kakashi didn't pick up on the fact that summer heat had easily broken into her head at the onsen, and was partially at fault for what had happened there, then their beloved Konoha was in need of some extra training classes. It had, after all, been a matter of being unable to resist the other person.

Kakashi was silent for several minutes, shifting his gaze to her window once more where flowers lay shriveled and dry against the sill. Sakura watched his profile nervously. Finally he spoke.

"And Sasuke left again."

"Yes. he went to kill Itachi." The same thought drifted in. That Sasuke might soon return was thrilling, although anyone else wouldn't have known this because of the sad tone in their voice. Sakura was beginning to hate how things turned blue at the mention of his name. Of course, now that team Seven had a lead on their lost member, they'd probably be sent off on yet another crazy mission sometime soon.

"Well if that's all, I suppose there isn't any harm done. You'll include anything about Yakushi 's current situation _and _about Hidden Sound in the report, I presume?" Sakura nodded, pleased that her sensei hadn't scolded her. Wasn't she lucky to have such an understanding teacher? Yes, she was. Kakashi stood up and Sakura walked him to the door. Before stepping out he pointed over to her window.

"You're flowers are looking rather toasty." And he was gone. Sakura smiled and rolled her eyes over to her flowerbox, where the obviously dead plants baked in the end of summer heat. Returning to her desk, she stared at the report and half blank paper before her. Slowly she picked up her pen again, and started a new paragraph.

Concerning the village of Hidden Sound: information class C-

_Information obtained from: Yakushi Kabuto-_

_-The village of hidden sound poisons their kunai._

Sakura tapped her pen and shifted to gaze out the window again, and then back at her partially blank paper, then again at the sunshine through the glass.

"Oh, screw this." And she stood up, threw down her pen, kicked aside her chair, and walked out the door.

Maybe if she caught up with Kakashi he'd buy her lunch at Ichiraku.

--

Oh it was so short. So sooo short. Well, in closing I'd like to say that I hoped you guys enjoyed reading this. Personally the nature descriptions were fun to write, but I did learn a lot. Like, my lemons need improvement, numbers are typed out, make the pace of the story better formed, etcetera. If you've any other tips of the overall fic, I'd love to hear them. :')


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